Daily Archives: August 8, 2014

As we pointed out a few days ago, our Probat GG45 roaster has undergone a complete renovation all week long.

Our original intention was to replace a small crack, but we figured the best idea would be to overhaul the entire machine treating it like a classic car that needed some tender love and care.

For those who have stopped into the Capitol Hill café over the past couple of weeks, the hard work by our engineers was probably apparent, as they moved pieces of the roaster around to complete the job.

With the rebuild comes a new chapter for our roaster, which is why we decided to share a bit more about this historic machine.

Built in the 1930s before the Second World War, this classic roaster turns out an incredible 3,500 pounds of coffee each day, with 80-pound batches roasted at just the right temperature in the cast iron GG45.

While Vita is using the Probat machine for its single origin, organic coffee now, it actually began its Italian coffee roasting days at the famous Caffe Trieste located in San Francisco’s North Beach, where beatniks like Jack Kerouac frequented for their morning coffee, no doubt helping them create during the days and nights.

Making its way to Seattle and Caffe Vita in 1999, millions of green beans have been dropped into the drum of the over eight-foot roaster since, going through the incredibly detailed process of roasting and filling our roasting room with magnificent aromas.

A backbone of gourmet coffee in Seattle and around the country, the GG45 has provided traditional Italian roasting methods for over 75 years, and, thanks to the facelift it recently received, will continue to do so for generations to come.